Wombat: animal of Australia. "Little bears" of the green continent. wombat animal what is a wombat in australia

Wombats belong to the family of marsupials that live on mainland Australia. They are herbivores that dig holes. Outwardly, they resemble cubs. Their growth is rather low up to 130 cm, and the weight most often does not reach 45 kg. They have strong and short limbs that end in five fingers, four of which have large claws for digging the ground.

Scientific classification:

Family: Wombats

Class: Mammals

Order: Two-crested marsupials

Type: Chordates

Kingdom: Animals

Domain: Eukaryotes

Wombats are most common in southern and eastern Australia. The main condition for their existence is the soil, convenient for digging holes.

Wombat lifestyle

Wombats build branched caves up to 3.5 meters deep and up to 20 meters long. Sometimes caves of different animals can overlap. During the day, wombats rest in their caves, and at night they get out in search of food.

It is noteworthy that if a wombat meets a stranger on the surface of its territory, it will behave aggressively towards him, and may even attack. And if a stranger meets underground in the process of digging caves, then they cohabit amicably. Wombats are considered animals that cannot be tamed and, moreover, trained. But at the same time, people start them on their plots of land as pets.

A distinctive feature of the body structure of wombats is a very hard back, which has a sort of solid shield. If the animal crawls into the cave to the wombat, then he tries to drive the animal into a corner and begins to crush it with his shield. It can also butt its enemy like a ram and make sounds similar to lowing.

What do wombats eat?

Food for wombats is quite varied. Most of all they love young shoots of grass. But they also eat plant roots, berries, mushrooms, moss. Their sense of smell helps them to choose their food. And the split upper lip helps them pick exactly which plant they want to eat.

The metabolism of wombats is characterized as very slow. Food can be digested for up to 14 days. They are also famous for their very low quantity consumed water. They are second only to camels. They need only 22 ml of water per day per 1 kg of their body. The feces of these animals are in the form of cubes. Wombats are very cold tolerant.

Wombat - video:

Wombat breeding

Wombats breed throughout the year. The only exceptions are the arid regions of Australia, where wombat breeding is seasonal. The female wombat has two nipples, but she can only give birth to one baby.

The female wombat carries the child for 21 days, and then he is in the mother's bag, which is more like a backpack, as it is located at the back.

The female's bag is located in the opposite direction so that when digging, the earth does not get to the child. From six to eight months, the baby wombat is in the bag and stays next to the mother for about a year. At 2 years old, the male wombat already reaches puberty, and at 3 years old, the female also reaches puberty.

The life expectancy of Australian bear cubs reaches about 15 years in nature, and approximately 25 years in captivity. A long-liver among wombats is known, who lived for 34 years in captivity.

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About wombats.

The wombat is one of the representatives of marsupials living in the forests of southern and eastern Australia, as well as the island of Tasmania. This mammal is somewhat similar to a teddy bear, but in fact it is not as harmless an animal as it might seem.

This animal can grow up to 120 centimeters, while weighing about 40 kilograms. On the rounded head are black “button” eyes and a large nose. The dense body is covered with thick soft fur, which allows you to keep warm in the cold night time, and huge claws grow on short legs, allowing the wombat to dig the ground.

Within a few minutes, this animal can hide underground, breaking through a tunnel. Wombats have high potential, their brains are much larger than those of other representatives of marsupials, so they dig moves not at random, but adhering to certain rules. Under the ground, the wombat has a whole complex of rooms with rooms and passages.

The length of the tunnel can reach 30 meters, while being no higher than 3 meters underground.

The wombat is a nocturnal animal. In the evening, this animal leaves its underground "kingdom", heading in search of food. Being an exclusively herbivorous representative of the animal world, he is not averse to eating grass, young shoots of trees, mosses, berries, and roots. Having eaten, he goes to sleep in his shelter until the next evening.

The metabolism in the wombat's body is slow, which allows the animal to drink only 22 milliliters of water per day, and also digest what they eat for 14 days.

In appearance, this fat man seems helpless and harmless, but in fact, nature has rewarded him with a weapon of defense and attack: a thick skin and claws.

An interesting fact is that the structural features of the back of the wombat do not allow any predator to bite through it. Cartilage, bones, as well as a thick layer of skin makes this part of the body almost “impenetrable”. In the event of an attack, the animal turns back to the enemy, blocking its further advance into the hole.

Thanks to the claws, the wombat is able to inflict heavy blows on the enemy. He can even fight a man - the most dangerous enemy of this animal. strong jaw with teeth adapted to chewing solid food, are also a good means of self-defense.

Unfortunately, nature did not reward this animal, like many others, with the ability to defend itself from poachers. The reason for the decline in the population is also motorways. The animal is not adapted to fast running, therefore it is not able to have time to cross the road between passing cars. locals consider wombats as pests because of the potholes and tunnels that are everywhere: whether it is a forest or a pasture.

Through such channels, pets can get through the fence wild dogs dingo and exterminate half the herd. To prevent this, shepherds and farmers set traps for wombats, thereby destroying and reducing their numbers.

These marsupials breed seasonally, during heavy rains. A small cub is born after a month of pregnancy. For the next 6 months, he will be with his mother in a bag, which, unlike the kangaroo bag, is located at the back, which blocks the penetration of dirt and earth into it when digging tunnels.

The cub will reach sexual maturity by 2 years. During this period, the young wombat leaves his mother, starting to live on his own. All representatives of this species of marsupials are satisfied with living alone, but some still keep in small clans.

The mere fact that wombats were the inhabitants of our planet more than ten million years ago, indicates the uniqueness of this animal.

Of course, many wombat species have disappeared from the face of the earth, but still today we can talk and get to know life. animal wombats. To date, the fauna is rich in two genera of the wombat family, which include three species of these unique creatures nature:

• Short-haired wombat (short-haired wombat)
• Long-haired wombat (Queensland and long-haired wombats)

In the process of evolution, there were significantly more genera of wombats, but, unfortunately, they could not be preserved in nature for a number of reasons. At least five such genera are known. In ancient times, wombats were considered the closest relatives; these animals have a lot of similarities.

However, about 36 million years ago, the evolutionary paths of these animals change direction and move away from each other. On photo of wombats you can still see some similarities.

Wombats are herbivores that are common in Australia, are herbivores and look very similar to small and at the same time. An adult animal in length has a size of 70 centimeters to 1.2 meters. In this case, the weight is in the range of 20-40 kilograms.

The physique of wombats is quite dense and compact, a small body, while it is enough large sizes head and four powerful limbs. Wombats also have a small tail, which is considered undeveloped. From above, wombats are covered with wool, usually gray or ashy.

The back of the animal is built in a special way, there is a lot of cartilage, bones and hard skin, it is a kind of shield. If someone tries to climb into the hole to the animal, then the wombat, as a rule, substitutes its ass and thus protects the passage inside in order to block and crush the attacker against the walls of the hole.

I would like to pay special attention to the head of these funny "", it is quite large in relation to the body, while being slightly flattened, there are beady eyes on the sides. In case of danger, wombats can defend themselves and even attack with their heads, as if they butt heads, although they do not have horns.

The structure of the jaw and teeth is very similar to the primary food-processing organs of rodents. Among marsupials, among wombats they have the smallest number of teeth: both in the upper and lower rows there are 2 front cutting teeth, as well as chewing ones, but they have no corner teeth.

wombat paws strong, muscular and strong enough, there are also claws that are present on each of the five fingers of each paw. Claws play a huge role in the life of an animal, since with their help they can dig holes.

Wombats are famous for the art of digging, creating entire underground kingdom-states, so sometimes they are given the title of the most talented and large-sized diggers. The tunnels dug by them can be up to 20 meters long and up to 3 meters wide.

They build entire underground palaces in which they can live with the whole family. Despite the small length of the paws, wombats are able to reach speeds of up to 40 km / h. They can also climb trees and even swim.

The nature and lifestyle of the wombat

- This homeland of wombats, however, there is also the island of Tasmania, where you can also meet such unusual inhabitants. Meeting with a wombat is not such a frequent thing, although in nature their numbers are not small.

This is due to the way of life, because it is mostly underground. Therefore, for these unique animals, the main thing is dry soil, in which there is no groundwater, deposits of stones and a large number roots of trees and plants.

Wombats build entire settlements underground, here are spacious houses, and intricate streets - tunnels through which the inhabitants of the underground move. Wombats spend most of the day in burrows.

They prefer nightlife, so during the day they rest and sleep in spacious and cool houses, and with the onset of darkness, they go upstairs to warm up and refresh themselves.

Wombats inhabit large groups, so they occupy a large area for life. Sometimes these are entire fields up to 25 hectares. To determine the boundaries of their possessions, animals mark the territory with the help of their excrement. An interesting fact is that wombat poop have the shape of a cube.

The nature of wombats friendly, they are not at all afraid of people. IN natural environment they have practically no enemies. However, if they have to defend their territory, they become aggressive.

When danger approaches, they take on a stern look, begin to shake their heads of impressive size and at the same time make an unpleasant sound that resembles a lowing.

This kind of determined wombat often scares off the attacker. If this does not happen, then an attack can also occur, wombats are used to fighting with their heads, just like goats or sheep butt heads. wombat pictures in their natural habitat, they are generally very positive and peaceful, the main thing is that there is no source of danger for these animals nearby.

Nutrition

They say about wombats that they are true gourmets and love only first-class food, which they get for themselves with the help of their claws. Wombats love to feast on young succulent shoots of plants, as well as roots, mosses, some berries and mushrooms. To select the best food for themselves, wombats use their sense of smell and special structure lips and teeth.

Thus, they are able to cut the smallest and most tender shoots under the root in order to enjoy their great taste. These unique animals digest food for up to 14 days, as they have an extremely slow digestion process.

Wombats are animals that do not need to absorb large amounts of water. In this they are very similar to the wanderers of the desert - camels. They only need 22 ml of water per day per 1 kg of weight. Therefore, the animal easily tolerates thirst, and can do without water for some time.

Reproduction and lifespan of the wombat

The birth of wombat cubs does not depend on the season of the year and weather conditions. Wombats breed throughout the year. However, in arid regions, scientists still observe rather seasonal reproduction.

Wombats are marsupials, however, in females, the bags are arranged in a special way, they are turned back so that they do not interfere with digging the ground, and dirt and earth do not get into them.

Pregnancy of the female lasts only about 20 days, then the only cub is born. Although the female has two nipples, it is impossible to carry and feed two babies.

For the next 8 months after birth, the baby lives with his mother in a bag, where he is surrounded by round-the-clock care and attention. However, even after leaving this cozy place, for about a year, before reaching puberty, he will live next to his mother, who will still take care of her child.

In nature, wombats live on average for about 15 years, and in captivity they can live for 20-25 years, it all depends on the conditions of detention and diet, and other factors.

Wombats- a family of two-crested marsupials that lives in Australia. Wombats are burrowing herbivores that look like small bears.

Wombats reach a length of 70 to 120 cm and a weight of 20 to 45 kg. Their body is compact, limbs are short and strong. Each of them has five fingers, of which the outer four are crowned with large claws adapted for digging the earth. The tail is short, the large head gives the impression of being slightly flattened laterally, the eyes are small.

It is curious that the jaws and teeth of the wombat show similarities with rodents. In the upper and lower rows, wombats have a pair of front cutting teeth. Chewing teeth are built very simply, angular teeth are absent. Wombats have the least number of teeth among marsupials - 12.

Wombats live in southern and eastern Australia, in the states of South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. They are distributed in a variety of habitats, but require suitable soil for burrowing.

Wombats are the largest of modern mammals, engaged in digging and spending most of their lives underground. With their sharp claws, they tear out small habitable caves in the ground, which sometimes form complex tunnel systems. As a rule, most of them reach about 20 meters in length and 3.5 meters in depth. If the sites of individual individuals overlap, the caves may be used by different wombats at different times. Wombats are active at night when they come out in search of food. During the day they rest in their shelters.

The adult wombat has almost no natural enemies. One of the few is the dingo imported by man.

The back of the wombat's body is extremely hard due to the thick skin, cartilage, and bones. In case of danger, they can, turning their backs, block their hole and repel most of the attackers, or crush their limbs against the walls of their living cave. In the back of the back, on the pelvic bones, the wombat has a kind of shield that protects it from an attack from behind. He also inflicts strong blows head - butts like a ram or a goat. If a dog climbs into his hole, he waits for her without leaving the spot, and then tries to corner him, against the wall of the hole, and strangle him with a shield there. Much more often, a person is to blame for the death of a wombat: in particular, many wombats die under the wheels of cars. In areas where human impact is low, the abundance of wombats is determined by the availability of suitable food.

The area of ​​wombats' plots varies depending on external conditions from 5 to 25 ha. On short distances, wombats can reach speeds of up to 62 km/h. When you need to get away from danger, the wombat swims well and can climb trees, as well as burrow into the ground.

Wombats eat young grass shoots. Sometimes plant roots, mosses, mushrooms and berries are also eaten.

Wombats breed throughout the year except in arid regions where their breeding is more seasonal. The bags of the females are turned back so that when digging, the earth does not get into them. Only one cub is born and raised at a time. The offspring grows in the mother's pouch for six to eight months and stays nearby for the next year.

Their life expectancy in nature reaches 15 years, in captivity they sometimes live up to 25.

The wombat family includes three modern look, combined into two types:

Wombats (Queensland wombat, long-haired wombat)

Bare-nosed wombats (short-haired wombat, salamat wombat)

The closest relatives of wombats are representatives of the family marsupial bears(koala). An even closer relative of the wombats was Diprotodon, a giant rhinoceros-sized marsupial that went extinct only about 40,000 years ago.

After the settlement of Australia by Europeans, the range of wombats was significantly reduced. The reasons for this were the destruction of their habitats, competition with imported species (in particular, with the domestic cat) and hunting for wombats. Today, only 118 specimens of the Queensland wombat remain, living in a small reserve in Queensland. The other two species are more common and are not yet endangered.

See information about other representatives of the fauna of Australia, among which are representatives of the genus of mammals of the family of carnivorous marsupials - marsupial mice and a rare mammal of the family marsupial anteaters -